Poor long-term recovery after critical COVID-19 during 12 months longitudinal follow-up.
Ing-Marie Larsson, Michael Hultström, Miklos Lipcsey and 3 others
PMID 36028412WHAT IT FOUND
Twelve months after severe COVID-19 ICU care, 46 patients still reported fatigue and functional limitations.
Symptoms did not improve between four and twelve months, except slight cognitive gain, while frailty worsened.
Key findings
01Between the first and second follow-ups, only MoCA improved (from 26 to 27, p = 0.039), while frailty increased (from 2 to 3, p = 0.002).
02Fatigue was the most common symptom, occurring in 51% (n = 23) to 84% (n = 38).
03Sick leave decreased from 24% to 13% between follow-ups, but full-time work was almost the same at 35% and 37%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The final analysis had only 46 patients, so results may be unstable. It was a single-hospital cohort from the first wave of COVID-19, so it may not apply to later waves or other settings. Patients were lost between follow-ups; those lost had less hypertension and more malignancy than those followed twice. Frailty was not measured before ICU admission, so the increase over time cannot be compared with each patient's baseline frailty. The study used many outcomes in a small sample, so individual findings may reflect chance. It was observational and had no control group, so it cannot show why outcomes changed or did not change. The Post-COVID-19 Functional Status Scale was not validated in Swedish at the time.
Declared interests
The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the MoCA improvement or lower sick leave as evidence that patients recovered or that any intervention worked. This was an observational follow-up study, and most outcomes, including fatigue and frailty, did not improve between four and twelve months.